In video communication systems of the type wherein an operator observes a display while being imaging by a video camera, a problem persists because the display and the camera cannot be in the same optical path. FIG. 1 illustrates the problem. An operator 102 wishes to view a display 104, creating an optical path required for an eye-contact view of the observer along line 106. At the same time, a camera 108 may be used to gather an image of the operator 102, utilizing a field of view 110. However, since the camera 108 cannot be located along path 106 without interfering with the display, the image taken of the operator 102 is typically that of an individual not looking at the camera, i.e., with his or her eyes looking slightly downwardly (or upwardly, depending upon the placement of the camera). Although a cathode-ray tube (CRT) type of display is depicted in broken-line form in FIG. 1, this problem is not limited to the use of the CRT display, but manifests itself with any type of display, including flat-panel types such as liquid-crystal displays, since the problem arises from the inability to realize a display/camera co-residency, regardless of technology.
As shown in FIG. 2, there exists one known attempt to solve this problem. In this case, a beamsplitter 202 is supported in the optical path between an operator 204 and a display apparatus 206. With this configuration, a camera 208 may be placed substantially off axis from the line of eye contact 210, including perpendicular to the line 210, as shown. With the beamsplitter 202 being positioned to substantially transmit the scene on display 206 to the operator 204 while reflecting the image of the operator 204 into the camera 208, a situation results wherein the camera 208 may effectively, at least optically, image along the line of eye-contact 210, resulting in a transmitted image of the operator 204 which is frontal, thereby facilitating eye contact.
However, serious problems exist with the use of the beamsplitter arrangement shown in FIG. 2, including the fact that beamsplitters are inefficient and bulky. The efficiency may result in the operator 204 observing a vestigial image of the camera 208, and the bulkiness precludes this arrangement from being used in compact configurations, which are becoming increasingly popular for video teleconferencing, video telephones, and so forth. The need remains, therefore, for apparatus and methods which will enable an operator viewing a display to be frontally viewed in a compact and efficient manner, thereby facilitating eye-contact in a variety of communications and conferencing-type systems.